Ride-hailing company Uber has struck a deal that will soon allow users in New York City to hail yellow cabs through its app.
The city’s 14,000 taxi drivers will be able to accept fares from Uber users through apps like Curb and Arro reports Engadget.
This is Uber’s first citywide partnership of this nature in the US. It expects the integrations to be up and running this spring.
Passengers will pay around the same as they would for Uber X rides, the company told The Wall Street Journal, with Uber and its partners taking a cut of the fare. Taxi drivers will be able to see their estimated earnings before deciding whether to accept a trip.
The move could help remedy Uber’s shortage of drivers and tackle the surge pricing problem while helping cab drivers find more fares. It could be an uneasy alliance, however, given that the taxi industry has opposed ride-sharing apps in the past.
The companies that tore up this industry need this more than the drivers do. Drivers can hold out on 1-2 more fares but cannot settle for a biz model that underpays drivers, fires them at will and guts full-time work. So it’s time to negotiate, – New York Taxi Workers Alliance executive director Bhairavi Desai was quoted as saying.
“If Uber and Curb think they can slide in with a payment structure that’s broken for Uber drivers and piece it together on the backs of yellow cab drivers, they are in for a sobering surprise,” Desai added.
